Stage 2: Arancón - Masegoso

The Antonine Itinerary

The so-called Antonine Itinerary, which dates from the third century, is a number of routes along the roads of the Roman Empire, of which there remains only a 4th century copy assigned to the time of Diocletian. It does not show all Roman roads, but it does include the 372 roads contained in the Register of Praetor, i.e. road routes covering every part of the Empire, including the 34 listed for Hispania.

The document recorded the mileage, equivalent measurements and “mansiones” (stopping places on Roman roads for those travelling the Empire on official business) for each route. The excellent work by surveyors of the time, who not only measured the distance between urban centres, but also provided proper road signage, information on obstacles, bridges, etc., laid the foundation for future maps.

Scholars have been intrigued by the uneven sections and sudden changes of direction of the Roman roads listed in the Antonine Itinerary. This has led to various theories about the true nature of the document, which as a "road map" would seem often confusing to the traveller.

Iter XXVII

The Roman road 27 of the Antonine Itinerary was called “Via Asturica per Cantabria Caesaraugusta”, and connected the present-day cities of Astorga and Saragossa located in the Douro Valley. Iter XXVII, attributed to the emperor Octavian Augustus, has been dated to the first century B.C. It already existed in times of Tiberius and Nero, and was rebuilt by Trajan. The Soria section winded through Uxama (Osma), Voluce (Calatañazor), Numantia (Numancia) and Augustobriga (Muro). It then entered into Aragón, passed through Turiasso (Tarazona) and continued to Caesaraugusta (Zaragoza).

Jerónimo Zurita, a 16th century Aragonese chronicler, already mentions this section of the road. However, it was Eduardo Saavedra (1829-1912), civil engineer and member of the Royal Academy of History, who discovered in the 19th century the section of Iter XXVII between Uxama and Augustobriga. The finding took place when the Burgo de Osma-Soria railway line was being built by the Compañía del Ferrócarril de Noroeste, of which he was the head engineer.

Saavedra provides a physical description of the road and of the antiquities found in his book “Descripción de la vía romana entre Uxama y Augustóbriga” (Description of the Roman road between Uxama and Augustobriga), published by the Royal Academy of History in 1879. This research was based on his knowledge of geography and the descriptions and itineraries of Roman writers, as well as information gleaned from epigraphic remains found in his excavations, in particular, numerous milestones and other inscriptions.

The Way of St. James through Soria

Omeñaca is located along the Way of St. James, also called the Castilian-Aragonese Way, an alternative route to the Way of St. James along the River Ebro. The Way of St. James through Soria was originally linked to Iter XXVII. Legend has it that James the Elder, after preaching in Galicia, travelled to Saragossa evangelising the towns scattered along this section of the Roman road, which for many centuries had been one of the branches used by pilgrims to reach Galicia.

This branch of the Way of St. James, between the rivers Ebro and Douro, climbs from the estuary in Amposta to Saragossa, and from there to Gallur, located on the right bank of the Ebro, in the so-called Somontano del Moncayo. In Gallur, the route veered west, passing through Soria, and connected Santo Domingo de Silos (Burgos) with the Ruta de la Lana (Wool Road), which originated in Valencia and traversed through Cuenca. The pilgrims from the Sagunto area also used an alternative route that passed through Teruel and Catalayud to the city of Soria, and from there as described above.

The present-day Castilian-Aragonese Way of St. James runs in part over the Roman road from Asturica to Caesaraugusta and along the Agua Soriano-Camino Antonino Nature Trail. The route passes through several places of enormous cultural and landscape value, including the towns of Borja, Tarazona, Agreda and the city of Soria, and natural spaces like Moncayo Nature Park, Sierra del Madero, Cañón del Rio Lobos or Picos de Urbión.

Uninhabited villages

During the Middle Ages, many small mountain villages in the Sistema Ibérico became uninhabited. This phenomenon had the most impact in Soria and Agreda in the fifteenth century, leading to conflicts over agricultural use of the land in these small abandoned villages.

A town or village did not have to be completely abandoned to lose its charter. If it had less than 5 inhabitants, it could be declared uninhabited (derraygado). The town then became a Crown property, although the titleholder could retain the property, provided the person could produce evidence and said right was recognised.

In many cases, the members of the oligarchy took advantage of this depopulation to expand their estate, misappropriating communal and waste lands owned by the uninhabited village in order to increase their agricultural land.

The Watchtowers

Rituerto Valley and Campo de Gomara are strewn with remains of Arab buildings that once were part of the Christian-Muslim border defence system. In the early tenth century, the Christians pushed the border to the River Douro, and the Caliphate of Cordoba built various defensive structures to strengthen their position.

Towers like La Pica, Aldealpozo, Castellanos del Campo, Noviercas or Masegoso belonged to that defensive system. Most are of Berber origin and have been included in the so-called Route of the Towers, which runs through Moncayo.

In case of a siege, these towers served as a refuge for the local population. They usually had chamber cum granary and a spring-fed well to be able to withstand a prolonged siege.

All the towers were robust, isolated and tall. They were rectangular, with a high entrance accessible by a staircase that could be removed in case of siege. Most have few windows and, in some cases, like the Masegoso tower, the walls are tapered at the top.